Eight mainland Chinese warships -- including two guided-missile
destroyers, four frigates and two submarines -- and 1,500 officers
made a six-day port call in Hong Kong last week. The ROC Ministry of
National Defense had said the passage of the mainland naval fleet
through the Taiwan Strait didn't pose any threat to Taiwan's
security.

However, Lan said the mainland fleet shows that the PLA now
possesses integrated above-water and underwater combat capabilities.
"Photos indicated that the two mainland submarines were equipped
with sound-absorbing coverings, which will have an impact on our
anti-submarine weaponry and sonar systems and pose greater threats to
our naval defenses, " Lan said, adding that Taiwan must carefully
study mainland China's naval modernization and work out response
strategies.

Speaking at the DPP seminar, Lan said the ROC military should
take a second thought on its plan to integrate the Navy's Haifeng
fleet into the newly established missile command center.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) set up a missile units
comman center April 1 and planned to integrate the Haifeng fleet,
which possesses land-based Hsiung-feng anti-ship missiles, into the
missile command July 1.

In his view, Lan said, the MND's plan is a "rash" move. "At the
moment, the Haifeng fleet command can fire a land-based Hsiung-feng
missiles against an invading mainland warship in three minutes. If
the Haifeng fleet is integrated into the new missile command, then it
will take up to seven minutes to make a response to a mainland naval
attack. Should that be the case, we'll be unable to cope with a
possible mainland surprise attack or its decapitating combat
tactics," Lan warned.

The seminar was chaired by DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui. In
addition to Lan, other participants included former Vice Defense
Minister Chen Pi-chao, retired Army Lt. General Shui Hua-min, DPP
Legislator Lee Wen-chung and Tsai Ming-yen, an assistan professor at
National Chunghsing University.

All of the participants agreed that the armed forces should cut
the ratio of army in the overall military personnel while expanding
the manpower of navy and air force to cater to the island's
defense needs.

The participants further said that under the two newly
implemented defense laws, the military's vertical and horizontal
command links are too complicated and cannot meet the
demand of modern warfare which typically requires quick response.
They urged the military to overhaul its command structure as early as
possible.